On December 29, 2011, in California Redevelopment
Association v. Matosantos, the California Supreme Court (the
Court) upheld the constitutionality of AB 1X 26, a statute ending
redevelopment agencies in the state. In the same decision, the
Court rejected AB 1X 27, which would have allowed a carveout for
redevelopment agencies to continue to exist if certain requirements
were met. This decision will have significant ramifications on
existing development projects involving redevelopment agencies and
may hinder future development in the state.
The statute that was upheld, AB 1X 26, adds two major parts to
Health and Safety Code, Division 24. Part 1.8 is what the Court
dubbed the "freeze" component and bars redevelopment
agencies from incurring new or expanding existing monetary or legal
obligations....
Specific Questions relating to this article should be addressed directly to the author.
Many of the nation’s toughest environmental laws were passed in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s when it seems the American people first realized that there could be a limit to the natural resources at our disposal.
The U.S. EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance has issued its draft guidance on the Fiscal Year 2013 enforcement program (FY 2013 Draft Guidance).
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has released its much anticipated draft regulations addressing subsequent well operations, including hydraulic fracturing.
On April 17, 2012, United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson signed final New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) and National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAPs) for the upstream and midstream oil and gas industries.
On April 17, 2012, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized performance and emissions standards for emissions from hydraulically fractured natural gas wells and other source categories in the oil and natural gas sector.
On April 17, 2012, The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)issued a set of comprehensive regulatory standards for the oil and gas industry under the Clean Air Act.
The Lower Fox River Superfund site continues to pump out decisions on key CERCLA issues. Most recently, the federal court in Wisconsin in "US v. NCR Corp." took on the issue of divisibility of harm in granting a preliminary injunction requiring one of the PRPs, NCR, to complete the removal of 660,000 cubic yards of PCB-contaminated sediments from a portion of the Lower Fox River.
In Neighbors for Smart Rail v. Exposition Metro Line Construction Authority, the California Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District ruled that, when supported by substantial evidence, projected future conditions may serve as an appropriate baseline for measuring a project's impacts under the California Environmental Quality Act.
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